Railway-rail joint.



J. C. MDCK.

, RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

`APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1912..

Patented' Dec. 22, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. G. MocK. RAILWAY RAIL vJOINT' APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 4, 1912.

Patented Dec. 22, 1914.

Z'SHBETSJSHBBT z.

JAMES c, Moon or nntrnoirfmcnienlvfgf RAILWAY-RAIL JOINT.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented De. 22, 1914.

Application lled March 4, 1912. Serial No. 681,349.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES C. MOCK, a citizenof the United States,residingl at Detroit, in the county of Wayne, State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Rail Joints; andI do declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the yart to whichit appertains to make and use the same, reference being'had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference markedthereon, whichv form a part of this specification. t

This invention relates to railway rail joints especially designed foruse 1n effecting insulated rail joints between the blocks of railwayblock signal systems, but adapted for other' purposes, and consists inthe construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully setforth and pointed out particularly in the claims. t t

The object of the invention 1s to provide simple and efficient means forenlarging the surface at 'and adjacent the ends of the rails to affordgreater splicing Contact and provide for more rigidly joining the railends,

rovision being also made for effectively lnsulating the ends of the railsections and for lprotecting the insulating material against wear wherethe joint is employed as an insulating joint in railway block slgna-lsystems.

The above object is attained by the construction illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a fragmentary view 1nperspective of a railway joint' constructed 1n accordance with myinvention, showing how said joint may be insulated. Fig. 2 is anelevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section as on line 3-3 ofFig. 2. Fig. 4 is a segregated view in perspective showing the membersemployed to enlarge vthe rail ends and the splicing plate for spanningthe joint at the meeting ends of the rail sections.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a modified construction illustrating onemethod of enlarging the rail ends by casting thereon metal to increasethe surface area shaped to enable the application of the splicing barsto connect the ends of the rails.

Referring to the drawings by the charac ters of reference thereon, 1designates the railway rails of suitable crosssection. To

, to cause the engagement of the upper edge thereof under the head ofthe rail and the laterally extending base portion 4 thereof to bear uponthe base of the rail. Each of the bars 2 is provided at the end adjacentthe rail joint with a laterally 5 projecting from its upper edge, andwith an integral truss member 6 extending inwardly and downwardly fromthe, outer edge of the base portion 4 so as to project under the base ofthe rail, said depending portion being provided in its outer face with alongitudinally extending channel 7. The web of the enlargingbars isprovided with apertures 8 for the securing bolts or rivets, and thedepending truss portion thereof is provided with bolt or rivet apertures9. Thejoint is completed by employing the splicing plates l0 which areprovided with an upper portion 11 adapted to'cross the joint between theenlarging bars or members 2, and to lie between and have contact withthe upper iianges 5 and the base portion 4 of said bars, said spliceplates having in said upper portion thereof the apertures 12 to receivethe transverse bolts 13 which the channels 7 of the truss portion 6 ofsaid enlarging bars. Formed through the lower portion 15 of each splice.plate are apertures 16 to receivethe bolts 17 which pass therethroughand through the apertures 9 in the truss portion of the enlarging bars,whereby the parts may be securely clamped together, in which positionthey afford a firm support for the rail joint, the lower portion of thesplice plates lying in the channels 7 of the depending portion 6 of theenlarging members, serving to firmly truss said joint, as will be wellunderstood. Where this construction is used as an insulating joint inextending flange railway block signal systems, insulation 18 isintroduced between the ends of the rails. Insulatiiig material 19 isalso introduced between the splice plates and surface of the enlargingbars upon which they bear, and between the lower portion of said platesand the channeled truss members 6, while the bolts 13 and"17are'provided with bushing 20 and 21 respectively of insulating material.In this construction the clamping surfaces arerof such extended areathat there is little or no rubbing friction between the parts, wherebythe interposed insulation is relieved from wear, thereby greatlyextending the life thereof and obviating the liability of a defectivejoint, electrically, through destruction of the insulatingmaterial. j

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a mode of enlarging the rail ends bycasting the enlarging members 2a thereon instead of bolting or rivetingthem to the rail end as shown in the other views. In this arrangementthe enlarging members might be formed interal below the base of the railas shown at 22. The splice plates 14 would be used in connection withthe construction shown in Fig. 5, as illustrated in the other views, andinsulation would be employed as in the other constructions, where aninsulated joint was to be made. IVhile I have shown my invention appliedto the ordinary T rail, it is obvious it may be applied to rails ofother sections and while drawings in assembly show insulating joints, Idesire not to be confined to such, as it is also obvious the design isequally applicable to non-insulating rail joints.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure 'by Letters Patent, is

1. In a rail joint, a pair of rails having adjacent ends, double channelor U U shaped bolting and bearing surface enlarging inembers embracingand securely fastened to then rail ends, splicing members to fit andcooperate with said enlarging members on four surfaces each of whichmakes an acute t angle with the vertical plane through the longitudinalaxis of the rails, a plurality of fastening members for securing thesplicing members and the enlarging members togetlier, one of the foursurfaces and some of the fastening members being located below the basesof the rails, the whole arrangement serving to rigidly join thecontiguous endsof the rails.'

2. In a rail joint, a pair of rails having adjacent ends, double channelshaped enlarging members having portions depending below the bases ofthe rails and embracing and securely fastened to the rail ends; splicingmembers to fit and coperate with said enlarging members on foursurfaces, each of' which makes an approximately equal angle with avvertical plane through the longitudinal axis of the rails, two of thefour surfaces being located below the base of the rails, means forrigidly securing the enlarging members and the splicing members to therail ends, and means for rigidly securing the splicing members to theenlarging members at a point below the bases of the rails.

of the splice members to the adjacent ends of the rails to form a rigidjoint.

4. In a rail joint, a pair of rails having adjacent ends, apair ofbolting and bearing enlarging members of double channel crosssectionembracing said rail ends, a splicing member engaging with the enlargingmembers along four surfaces each of which makes an approximately equalangle with a vertical plane through the axis of the rails, two of t esurfaces bein located below the bases of the rails, means for fasteningthe enlarging members and the splicing member to the rails, separatemeans for fastening the enlarging members and the splicing membertogether below the bases 'of the rails, and insulating materialinterposed between the enlarging and splicing members and between thefastening means and the splicing member and also between the ends of therails, the whole arrangement being such that the rails are rigidlyjoined together mechanically and separated electrically.

5. In a rail joint, a pair of rails having adjacent ends, discontinuousinner splicing members of doublechannel cross-section on each side ofthe rails, said inner splicing members having portions depending below'the bases of the rails, outer splicing'memiasV ing members and thesecond mentioned fastening means, and between the ends of the rails.

6. In a rail joint, a pair of rails having adjacent ends, inner splicingmembers of double channel cross-section on each side of the rails, saidinner splicing members having portions depending below the bases of therails, outer splicing members fitting against the outer sides of theinner splicing members along four surfaces each of which makes an anglewith the vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of the rails,means for independently fastening together the inner and outer splicemembers on each

